Month: September 2018

Young boys years ago made wooden cars and raced them in the pinewood derby. I recall mine was held in the basement of my home church. My car was fast but not fast enough to win. I never imagined that wood would someday be used to make or fuel cars.

Now, the use of wood in cars has gone one step further. Japanese researchers and auto component makers are working on a material made from wood to help in the assembly of cars. The material weighs just one fifth of steel and can be five times stronger. The material is cellulose nanofibers and could become a viable alternative to steel in the decades ahead, they say, although it faces competition from carbon-based materials, and remains a long way from being commercially viable.

However, in recent years as gas prices increased there was a resurgence of interest in bio-based fuels for automobiles, diesel engines, and jet engines. One of the fuel sources that has been widely explored is wood.

Reducing the weight of a vehicle will be critical as manufacturers move to bring electric cars into the mainstream. Batteries are an expensive but vital component, so a reduction in car weight will mean fewer batteries will be needed to power the vehicle, saving on costs.

Researchers at Kyoto University and major parts suppliers such as Denso Corp, Toyota’s biggest supplier, and DaikyoNishikawa Corp, are working with plastics incorporated with cellulose nanofibers – made by breaking down wood pulp fibers into several hundredths of a micron (one thousandth of a millimeter).

Cellulose nanofibers have been used in a variety of products ranging from ink to transparent displays, but their potential use in cars has been enabled by the “Kyoto Process”, under which chemically treated wood fibers are kneaded into plastics while simultaneously being broken down into nanofibers, slashing the cost of production to roughly one-fifth that of other processes.

“This is the lowest-cost, highest-performance application for cellulose nanofibers, and that’s why we’re focusing on its use in auto and aircraft parts,” Kyoto University Professor Hiroaki Yano, who is leading the research, told Reuters in an interview.

“We’ve been using plastics as a replacement for steel, and we’re hoping that cellulose nanofibers will widen the possibilities toward that goal,” said Yukihiko Ishino, a spokesman at DaikyoNishikawa, which counts Toyota Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp among its customers.

Automakers are also using other lightweight substitutes. BMW uses carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) for its i3 compact electric car as well as for its 7 series, while high-tensile steel and aluminum alloys are currently the most widely used lightweight options because they are cheaper and recyclable.

Yano said he was inspired in his research by a photo of the “Spruce Goose”, a cargo plane made almost entirely of wood in 1947 by U.S. billionaire entrepreneur Howard Hughes. At the time, it was the world’s largest aircraft.

“I thought that if Howard Hughes could find a way to use wood to build a massive plane, why not use wood to make a material that was as strong as steel,” he said.

Analysts say high-tensile steel and aluminum will be the more popular alternative for many years to come, considering parts makers would need to overhaul production lines and figure out ways to fasten new materials like cellulose nanofiber onto other car parts.

Anthony Vicari, an applied materials analyst at Lux Research in Boston, said it “would be a big deal” though if Yano’s projections prove to be correct. But for now, it remains “a very big ‘if’”, he said.

Todd Shupe is the President of DrToddShupe.com and is a well recognized expert on wood-based housing and wood science. Shupe worked as a professor and lab director at LSU for 18 years and Quality Manager for Eco Environmental (Louisville, KY) for 2 years. He is active in several ministries including his Christian blog ToddShupe.com. Todd is the Secretary of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men, Database Coordinator for Gulf South Men, and volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, Iron Sharpens Iron, Open Air Ministries, HOPE Ministries food pantry. Todd is currently preparing to be a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men.

25 Years of Housing Experience

My house in Baton Rouge, La has wooden facia and soffits. I have lived in my house for over 25 years and have had a constant battle with wood decay in the soffits and facia. I have replaced sections of soffit and facia all over the house and in some places three or four times! As you can imagine, this has been costly, expensive, and frustrating. I use a very “high tech” method of determining soffit and facia decay damage. I will walk around my house with a broom and gently poke the soffit and tap the facia boards. On some occasions even a gentle tap will result in a hole from the broom handle. This is fine because the wood needs to be replaced anyway so a small hole just serves to let me know where I need to begin when I come back to do the demo and repair work.

Water is the Root Cause

The primary cause of any wood decay problem is always the same – water. Exterior wood in south Louisiana faces a harsh climate with prolonged periods of rain, high humidity, and high temperatures. I have had my roof changed out a few times over the years and I suspect that this is the cause of my problems. I probably have water entering via nail holes in the roof. The water runs down the interior part of the roof and pools in the soffit area. I have been in the attic on dry days and do not have any water stains. I have also gone into the attic during the day but was unable to locate small pin holes of light coming in.

Although many CCA metal removal methods, such as chemical extraction (Kartal and Clausen, 2001a; Kakitani et al., 2006) and bioremediation (Clausen, 2004b), have been proposed, very few studies have focused on both removal and reuse of CCA metals. It has been generally considered that Cr(VI) is reduced to Cr(III) and which then precipitates with As(V) and Cu(II) in wood components during CCA fixation process. Therefore, it is essential that the recovered CCA metals should be in an appropriate oxidation state which can be reused as a treating solution.

Borates

One viable alternative is treated wood composite trim products. JELD-WEN recently purchased CraftMaster and acquired their exterior trim product technology. I have tested many of the CraftMaster products and they perform excellent against mold, termites, and decay. The benefit of borate-based wood preservatives is that they are mobile in the wood. This means that they actually can move inside the wood to where they are needed. If you have a decay problem, it is due to a moisture problem. So, borates will move to the area of higher moisture content and stop the decay problem. Borates are cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and proven to be effective in very harsh climates.

Todd Shupe is the President of DrToddShupe.com and is a well recognized expert on wood-based housing and wood science. Shupe worked as a professor and lab director at LSU for 18 years and Quality Manager for Eco Environmental (Louisville, KY) for 2 years. He is active in several ministries including his Christian blog ToddShupe.com. Todd is the Secretary of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men, Database Coordinator for Gulf South Men, and volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, Iron Sharpens Iron, Open Air Ministries, HOPE Ministries food pantry. Todd is currently preparing to be a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men.